Below is a the copy I wrote for Tanis and Seth's brochure on the 77 lakester
when we took it over to the Parisian Louis Vuitton Concours d'Elegance. The
info is current to Sept 2000 -- we are in the process of updating and
expanding the history over the next year.
Be Vigilant,
"LandSpeed" Louise Ann Noeth
LandSpeed Productions
Telling Stories with Words and Pictures
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CAR 77 HISTORY
This car conceived and created originally by Tim Rochlitzer of Santa Barbara
California,used the new and more streamlined F-86 Jet Fighter fuel drop tank
with a hand formed aluminum tail/cockpit section.It was designed to hold a
small block Chevrolet V8 engine/transmission and Ford Halibrand quick change
rear end inside the 26 "
diameter tank. First time out was 1962. Seth Hammond,starting in 1981,
continued the constant quest for more speed and the car has undergone many
aerodynamic body modifications and chassis refinements. With a variety of
engine displacement sizes this car has carried 10 men and 2 women into the
prestigious 200 MPH club. In 38 years it has run more than 300 times over 200
MPH with a top speed of 299 MPH it currently holds 7 land speed records.
Car 77 Specification:
. Dimensions:
Overall length -288 "
Overall height -40.5 "
Overall width -69 "
Wheelbase -110 "
Weight -2550 lbs.
. Safety Equipment:
Parachute -8 ft Diest.
Firesuit -Simpson.
Helmet -Simpson.
.Frame: Mild steel tube 1 1/4 " dia..x 125 wall.Roll bar -1 5/8 ".
. Tires: 600 x 16 front.800 x 18 rear.
. Suspension: Front -Steel tube,transverse leaf spring.
Rear -Halibrand "Quick change " with swing axles,
2.54 to 1 final drive.1/4 elliptic springs.12 " drum brakes.
. Body: Original shape -F-85 jet fighter wingtank.
Modifications -hand formed .060 aluminum.
#77 Currrent records (as of 9/2000):
C/GL Seth Hammond '92 259 MPH
D/GL Mike Dawson '97 254 MPH
E/GL Mike Dawson '92 231 MPH
C/FL Seth Hammond '92 278 MPH
D/FL Tanis Hammond '97 263 MPH
E/FL Seth Hammond '91 253 MPH
B/GL Channing Hammond '96 267 MPH
Others in the 200 Club #77 car:
Tim Rochlitzer '63 226 MPH
Ernest Bennett '67 221 MPH
Bob Bennett '77 203 MPH
Lee Gustafson '85 233 MPH
Jeff Carroll '85 269 MPH
Ray Oberst '86 226 MPH
Monty Rook '88 251 MPH
Salt Fever & Speed
A Brief explanation of the oldest and most enduring form of automobile
racing.
by Louise Ann Noeth
For decades people have pondered the question,"How fast will it go?" It is a
curiosity, an itch that one can 't seem to fully scratch. For some,no matter
how fast they go, it is never fast enough.Speed.
This single word connects thousands of people from every walk of life,
political, religious and socio-economic levels to create a family of land
speed racers unique within the motor sports world.
Louise Ann Noeth,in her book,"Bonneville Salt Flats,"describes land speed
racing as "a place where speed as well as one 's courage can be found in the
throttle pedal,measured somewhere between idle and the floorboards."
The fastest land speed racers go to the Bonneville Salt Flats,a pristine,
blindingly white,ultra-flat, vast wasteland of pure salt where you can see the
curvature of the earth and rainbows erupt into uninterrupted 180 degree color
shows.
This is the world's largest,natural dynamometer,the longest stretch of
unobstructed,concrete-hard straightness in North America and Europe.There are
no speed limits. Husbands and wives, brothers and sisters,f athers and sons
and grandsons and grand daughters ...,they all strap in for the ride of a
lifetime.
The fastest earn a membership in the 200MPH Club, Bonneville"s exclusive
fraternity of the fastest women and men on earth.This is an amateur,there is
no prize money, only a time slip,maybe a trophy and "bragging rights"for
setting a speed record with a car,truck or motorcycle. From 50mph to more than
400 mph, land speed racers bring their hand-built rolling metal sculptures to
stretch their courage,knowledge and have fun.
Incredible friendships,devoid of "status"lines are formed every August when
the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) "Speedweek,"a Brigadoon
speed capitol that rises and falls within a 10-day period attracting hundreds
of competitors from all over the world. Spectators have been welcome since
1949, when the hot rodders first arrived.
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